This invention relates to a print apparatus consumable purchase system and a program used with the system.
Generally, in a print apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile, normally, when the coloring material remaining amount of a coloring material cartridge such as an ink cartridge, an ink-sublimation film cartridge, a toner cartridge, or an ink ribbon cartridge becomes low or zero, a warning indicating the fact is displayed on the display section of the print apparatus or the display of the computer connected to the print apparatus.
A print apparatus in the related art print apparatuss, on a print paper, a warning containing the model of the ink cartridge (coloring material cartridge) as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2891090. Further, when the fact that the ink remaining amount of the ink cartridge (coloring material cartridge) in a facsimile machine becomes low is detected, the facsimile machine automatically dialed a phone number of a trader stored in a number storage device in the facsimile machine to order the ink cartridge.
According to the above-described art in Japanese Patent No. 2891090, when the ink remaining amount of the ink cartridge becomes low, the printer outputs a warning paper on which the model of the ink cartridge is printed, thus the user can save labor such as looking up the model of the ink cartridge and making a memo of the model. However, the art involves the following problems:
Since the ink getting low is used to print the warning, essentially necessary ink in the ink cartridge decreases still more and print paper is consumed fruitlessly. If the warning is printed when normal print is started or during printing, the throughput of the essential print operation is degraded. In addition, the warning gets mixed with the normal printed document and the user may not notice that the warning is printed.
On the other hand, according to the above-described art in JP-A-7-322032, the problems involved in Japanese Patent No. 2891090 such that ink getting low in the ink cartridge decreases still more and that print paper is consumed fruitlessly do not arise, however, the art involves the following problem:
When the ink remaining amount becoming low is detected, the number of the predetermined trader to be given an order for a new ink cartridge is automatically dialed. Thus, if the user already keeps an ink cartridge in stock, an order is automatically given for a new ink cartridge and this situation is against a user's will.